CHESTER, Pennsylvania – Brandon Vazquez put his head and face in harm's way against the Philadelphia Union, and was rewarded and punished in equal measure.
In the 40th minute of FC Cincinnati's Saturday visit to Philadelphia Union's Subaru Park, Vazquez got low and dove to nod home a second ball off an FCC corner kick.
Vazquez was about three yards from the goal mouth when he met the ball and scored for 1-1, silencing a rowdy, partisan crowd of 18,717.
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But it was at that moment that Vazquez also hit the cleat studs of Philadelphia goalkeeper Andre Blake, who rushed into position in attempting to deny Cincinnati the equalizer.
Blake caught more of Vazquez's forehead and face than the ball. Vazquez had the scars to show for the encounter.
Afterward in an FC Cincinnati locker room awash in music, Vazquez smiled and laughed when bruise marks from the collision were brought to his attention.
"Metal studs," Vazquez chuckled.
"I saw Blake coming out, so I did the first thing I could think of, so naturally that was a header," Vazquez said during the post-match interview. "I put my head on the line and I got a goal."
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Vazquez's goal, and the mentality that produced to it, typified an FC Cincinnati effort that helped produce one of the biggest results in the franchise's short history in Major League Soccer – a surprise, 1-1 road draw against one-loss Philadelphia.
The tie constituted FC Cincinnati's first-ever point on the road against Philadelphia, and its second-ever tie in the lopsided series dominated by the Union.
The result pushed Cincinnati to 6-7-2 in 2022, and helped kick off a run of matches against top Eastern Conference clubs with a head-turning outcome against a Philadelphia team (6-1-8) that many consider the class of the east.
Making the result even more enticing for FC Cincinnati was that the club was without the services of defensive midfielder Junior Moreno and play-maker Luciano Acosta, both of whom are key pieces to the 2022 team.
Acosta came on as a substitute for 13-plus minutes after his output in training sessions was reduced this past week due to COVID-19 health and safety protocols, but Moreno didn't dress for the game.
“I thought it was a good point for us," FC Cincinnati head coach Pat Noonan, a former Union assistant, said afterward. "I was really pleased with the first 45 minutes, despite going down a goal where we could have done a little bit better to end that play to prevent the goal. We found a good rhythm after conceding. I thought it was important to level the score before half with how we were playing.
"Second half there were still some good things. I think our final third play was a little bit off in the decision making and how we were able to get into the box. I thought a lot of it was wide service where we could have been a little bit more patient. But to see the game out, 1-1 I think is fair. They did have a couple of good chances with guys back there towards the end where we could do a better job of marking in the box. But I'm pleased with the group coming out of the (international) break and how they performed.”
The Vazquez goal cancelled out Alejandro Bedoya's curling opener in the 17th minute from just inside the Cincinnati penalty area.
The score lit the fuse on a lively in-stadium atmosphere, and seemed to foreshadow a long night ahead for FCC.
Cincinnati rebounded from that moment to dominate possession in the first half, and it was useful possession.
FC Cincinnati was noticeably connected and positive in its approach when in possession, and hogged 65% of the ball in the opening half.
"I wish I could say that the lead-up to this game was us looking like that for several weeks," Noonan said with a smile. "But I do think the longer (international) break allowed us to prepare for our opponent in a way where we could work on things, over and over to try to find ideas of how we could have success. But the one area leading up to the break where we were struggling with was our quality with the ball, our spacing, how we were able to play through pressure, and then how we were able to attack after breaking pressure.
"And I thought our first 45 was probably as good as we've seen from this group this year, against a team that knows how to pressure the ball. And so I was very pleased with that. But I think it was just the spacing, it was the ways in which we found switches of play, whether it was through the middle, whether it was around, I thought that was going to be important in us being able to play higher up the field. But then it was also the ways in which we could play centrally from those wide channels to be able to put them under pressure and not rely on just wide service over and over. So, credit to the players for having the composure to move the ball in certain ways to allow us to play in their half of the field.”
Philadelphia adjusted in the second half and, with the backing of its supporters, turned up the pressure. The Union carved out chances but the finishing lacked – Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano was called upon to make multiple reaction saves in the second half but many were fired straight at him.
Celentano finished the match with four saves, just as Blake did.
Even as Philadelphia evened the flow of the match in the second half, multiple members of the Cincinnati team argued they should have won the match.
Haris Medunjanin, who captained FC Cincinnati, went as far as to say FCC dominated the contest.
"Last game we come here (in 2021), we lose 3-0. But now you see we dominate for the most part," Medunjanin said. "Especially in the first half. You get this stupid goal. We give them this goal but I think overall, we dominated the first half. They didn't have, like, a clue, you know? They're just kicking balls long, so they were frustrated also.
"They are not used to this ... Everybody was fight. Second half, they're gonna push but overall, I think we even have the (chance) to win. Overall, I think it's a good point. To play away and dominate a Philadelphia team that is very good, that's a good sign."
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CHESTER, Pennsylvania – Welcome to Cincinnati.com's live coverage of FC Cincinnati versus Philadelphia Union at Subaru Park. Refresh this page throughout the match for live updates and analysis, and follow Enquirer FC Cincinnati beat reporter Pat Brennan on Twitter (@PBrennanENQ) for further updates.
In-match updates:
• HALF: Philadelphia Union 1, FC Cincinnati 1.
• 40th minute – GOAL, FC Cincinnati (1-1): Brandon Vazquez hit the deck with a diving header from just a couple yards out from the goal mouth to redirect Tyler Blackett's header off an Alvaro Barreal free-kick. Vazquez's headed attempt almost had nowhere else to go but in the back of Philadelphia's net, which it did. Vazquez initially appeared to be hurt following the play but jumped to his feet and remained in the game.
The goal was Vazquez's eighth of 2022, tying him with Brenner Souza da Silva for the single-season goal-scoring record. Brenner scored eight in 2021.
• 17th minute – GOAL, Philadelphia Union (1-0): Alejandro Bedoya beautifully curled a shot in from about 16 yards out, beating the outstretched arms of FCC goalkeeper Roman Celen
• Match underway at about 7:38 p.m.
Pre-match updates:
• FC Cincinnati starting XI: Roman Celentano (GK), John Nelson, Geoff Cameron, Nick Hagglund, Ray Gaddis, Haris Medunjanin (captain), Obinna Nwobodo, Alvaro Barreal, Brenner Souza da Silva, Brandon Vazquez.
• FC Cincinnati bench: Luciano Acosta, Dominique Badji, Allan Cruz, Nick Markanich, Ian Murphy, Alvas Powell, Harrison Robledo, Kenneth Vermeer (GK).
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